With Music, Movement, and Merriment, ‘SHE’ to Explore Modern Womanhood

UPDATED: April 13, 2016, at 3:55 p.m.

“SHE,” an original musical revue, weaves together vignettes and music to explore aspects of modern womanhood ranging from lighthearted moments of friendship and mountain climbing to pregnancy scares and the aftermath of sexual assault. Inspired by true stories and featuring a cast of over 20 Harvard women, “SHE” will run April 14 and 15 in the Oberon Theater.

According to songwriter and composer Liz P. Kantor ’18, the show was first conceived in December 2014, in the face of a spring semester relatively lacking in dramatic opportunities for women. “The guys had the opportunity to be in the Pudding, but that just wasn’t something we had access to. So one of my friends, Ally [M.] Kiley [’15], came to me and asked me if I wanted to music-direct a show of songs that all passed the Bechdel test.” Despite the fact that the production focuses on women, Kantor believes that the show is one for and about everyone. “We came up with this tagline: ‘By women, about women, for everyone,’” says Kantor. “We all want this to be something that is accessible to audiences of all ages, genders, races, sexualities, everything.”

With every scene based on a personal experience from either a member of the cast or an acquaintance, “SHE” looks to deliver a potent emotional punch. Actor Lindsey C. Ruggles ’19 says that the true-to-life nature of the show has been an especially demanding aspect of her role. “The most challenging part is just making sure that you honor people and their stories,” she says. “You want to make sure that you’re doing justice to somebody else’s life.”

Ultimately, however, Ruggles sees the show as joyous. “People go through difficult things, and they go through happy times and sad times and that can be really great and really upsetting,” she says, “but I hope that people see it as a whole range of life experiences. I hope that the biggest thing people take away from this is the strength of every person and every character in the show, and that that translate[s] to life as well.”

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

CORRECTION: April 13, 2016

A previous version of this article misprinted the middle initial of Liz P. Kantor '18 and Karen L. Chee '17. It is Liz P. Kantor and not Liz E. Kantor; it is Karen L. Chee and not Karen F. Chee.